The present invention relates to an automatic (automated) operation apparatus capable of automating an operator console operation commanded by an operating system, or an application program.
The automating technique for the operator console operation is disclosed in "Operating Systems, A systematic View" by W. S. Davis, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc., 1987, p.p. 126-130, and "MVS Concepts and Facilities" by R. H. Johnson, Intertext Publications/Multiscience Press, Inc., 1989, p.p. 265-269.
As to such an automatic operation apparatus for accepting a message outputted to the operator console by the operating system and/or the application program and for automatically producing a response to this message, messages outputted to the operator console are acquired by way of the virtual console function such as the message processing facility (MPF) registered in the console managing program, e.g., the device driver and the console task.
As a consequence, in order to acquire the message by this method, it is required to register such a function into the console management program, by which the message is read and a response to this message is sent back, namely to register the virtual console function. At the same time, it is required to provide an interface for passing the message from the console management program to the virtual console function.
Also, in an automatic operation control system for computers wherein a message to be outputted to the console is passed via the message transfer control unit mounted inside the control unit for outputting the message data to the console, to the automatic operation control system, and analyzed to execute a predetermined operation, the message transfer control unit is required to be employed in the message output control unit in this automatic operation control system for computers. Moreover, the transfer interface for the message data via the message transfer control unit must be provided between the message output control unit and the automatic operation control system.
As described in such conventional automatic operation systems, acquisition of the message directed to the operator console by the automatic operation program can be realized by employing the specific interface of automatic operation acquisition in either the device driver of the operator console, or the equivalent portion thereof corresponding to a portion of the operating system. Also, transfer of the command from the automatic operation program to the console management program can be realized by employing such an interface for the virtual console function of the automatic operation.
The above-explained prior art system is limitedly useful for such a condition that the automatic operation is supported on a single operating system realized on a single sort of computer architecture. This is because the automatic operation interface may be employed in this device driver so as to automatically operate the operator console.
However, there is such a problem in case that any firms other than the computer and/or operating system (OS) developing firm will develop automatic operation functions for this computer and OS. That is, if they are short of information used to develop the device drivers, then it is rather difficult to provide the automatic operation interface with the device driver.